World Grain - January 2023 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR
Climate challenge requires
unconventional solutions
"
W
e are in the fight of our lives,
and we are losing. "
Those sobering words
from The United Nations Secretary
General António Guterres set the tone
for the annual international climate
talks two months ago in Egypt.
The grain industry sees signs of the
burgeoning climate catastrophe everywhere.
Water levels on the Mississippi
River, the United States' main artery
for grain exports, have receded to record
lows, limiting the amount of grain
that can be transported down the river.
Drought also has dropped global grain
ending stocks to their lowest level in
nearly a decade due to prolonged dry
spells in major grain-producing regions.
Although often overlooked in discussions
about causes and consequences
of climate change, global agriculture
is truly front and center in the developing
crisis. Despite being responsible for
34% of carbon emissions and seeing
production severely impacted by climate
change, global agriculture mostly
has been on the outside looking in when
it comes to climate negotiations.
Fortunately, at the most recent international
climate talks, agriculture was
central to the discussion. An open letter
from an organization representing over
300 million families of farmers and related
trades was read at the conference.
The warning stressed that global food
security will be at risk unless concerned
authorities and governments do not
raise the bar for small-scale production
and promote low-input agriculture.
The question the global grain industry
should be asking, in addition to what
can be done to slow climate change, is
how can we continue to produce enough
grain to feed the world if human intervention
fails to slow the climate crisis?
Part of that solution will require adopting
genetically modified varieties of food
6
grains, particularly wheat. In a recent editorial,
I noted that I didn't think Bioceres'
GM wheat variety, HB4, would be commercialized
any time soon, not because
it's unsafe but because enough of the
downstream users of wheat, as well as
consumers, are opposed to it. If we are
serious about maximizing grain production
in a world where climate change is
hindering grain output, then commercializing
drought-resistant GM wheat varieties
such as HB4, which has received a
stamp of approval from several regulatory
bodies, including the US Food and
Drug Administration, is a commonsense
measure that can make a difference.
Recently, a team of UK scientists
concluded that global wheat production
could be doubled by the genetic
improvement of local wheat cultivars
without increasing global wheat acreage.
Given the dire circumstances of climate
change, how can we say no to that?
Also in England, a discovery made by
researchers at the John Innes Centre in
Norwich could lead to wheat varieties
that are more resistant to drought. They
found a height-reducing gene that allows
seeds to be planted deeper in the
soil, providing more access to moisture.
Even indoor wheat production, despite
its high production costs and energy
usage, deserves consideration as
a supplement to traditional outdoor
wheat growing.
Thinking outside
the box is a necessity
as climate change
becomes more entrenched.
Conventional
crops and conventional
thinking won't be enough to
maximize the production needed as we
move forward in the 21st century.
Arvin Donley
Editor
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World Grain - January 2023

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